Justice News

CHARLESTON – A Charleston pill dealer who illegally possessed a firearm in January 2013 pleaded guilty today to a federal charge, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Anthony Dawson, Jr., 30, entered a guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm before U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. On January 3, Dawson possessed a 9-millimeter pistol and later pawned the firearm near Dunbar, W.Va., in exchange for $400.

Dawson was previously convicted of conspiracy to deliver oxycodone in June 2009 in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. The defendant did not have his rights to possess a firearm restored.

Dawson faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on October 29, 2013. The Charleston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in the United States by networking existing local programs targeting gun crime.

This case is also being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of prescription drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.